WinToFlash is a utility that aids in creating a bootable Windows setup USB drive from a CD or DVD source.

It will also work with LiveCD's, making bootable USB versions. This tool can be particularly useful if you are looking to install Windows on a netbook, or on a computer or laptop that has no (or a broken) optical disc drive.

The utility prepares the USB to boot (if compatible) and will drag the contents of a Windows installation CD or DVD over to the device. If you then change your boot settings to give higher priority to a USB drive (or use a boot selection menu if possible), you can start the installation from USB instead of attempting to boot from HDD.

Remember that for some Windows installation discs, you will need a relatively high capacity USB drive. For Windows 7, for example, you will need a 4GB thumbdrive at least, and may even require a larger drive if the Windows 7 installation disc has multiple versions of the OS on it.